They bury their scar-speckled snouts into cuts to lick wounds, according to Contino-Turner. And some of the dogs hobble around, nursing severely bitten limbs.

“We had one poor dog that looked like they cut his ears off with scissors about two
months ago,” Contino-Turner said. Dog handlers cut them before fights to make them harder for other dogs to grip.

“He was destroyed,” Contino-Turner said.

If the Michael Vick case in Virginia has shone a national spotlight on dogfighting in 2007, local authorities say it’s a rare and hard-to-catch practice locally.

Evidence of dogfighting’s toll can be seen in local shelters, if not in local jails. Dogs arrive injured and aggressive -- the end result of months or years of abuse. Many are pit bulls.

The Vick case

Americans became aware of the prevalence and viciousness of dogfighting thanks to the federal prosecution of former Atlanta Falcons’ star Vick, who was sentenced to 23 months in prison Dec. 10.

“As a cruelty case worker, I was well aware of the prevalence of dogfighting,” said Stephanie Bell, a senior cruelty caseworker with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which is based in Norfolk, Va.

“There’s no question the Vick case has been a catalyst to expose this issue and give an idea of the prevalence to the public as well as to law enforcement.”

Vick had a storied career at Virginia Tech, including having played for a national championship in 2000. He was the first African-American quarterback in NFL history drafted first overall and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection.

Vick’s 15-acre property in Smithfield, Va., was found to have been the site of dogfighting and training in April. Vick and three other men were indicted on federal charges stemming from their Bad Newz Kennels operation.

As a result, it could be 2010 before Vick plays again in the NFL – if ever.

‘It does happen’

Criminal prosecutions for dogfighting have been sparse in the Mohawk Valley. Whether that’s due to lack of investigatory resources and attention, underreporting or simply a lack of such activity is not clear.

Benzo said his officers have seen evidence of dogfighting, but he isn’t aware of any organizations or fights that are conducted in the Utica area.

“I don’t know if we have it in the city,” he said. “It’s sort of hard to have a large number of people gathered for that sort of thing without us knowing something about it. People may have fights outside of the city, where you could have a large number of people gather without anybody really knowing.”

In nine years as Utica’s animal control officer, Chris Collver remembers encountering two criminal cases and “a couple juvenile cases that went to Family Court because they involved minors.”

In October 2002, two Utica residents were charged with animal fighting, a felony under state Agriculture and Markets law. The criminal complaint asserted that they trained seven pit bull dogs to do battle. Ultimately, the couple took an animal abuse plea and each person was sentenced to six months of house arrest.

He said he gets calls twice a summer about two people getting together to fight their dogs at a corner or in a park. He tries to catch them in the act because it’s hard to prove their intent otherwise.

He says the answer to stopping dogfighting is having more people report the things they see, something he believes people are often afraid to do.

“In the inner city, people are afraid of their houses getting broken into, their windows being broken or their property being damaged by the people they report,” he said.

Oneida County Sheriff Daniel Middaugh said in his 37 years of service, he couldn’t recall any dogfighting cases.

Reports not always made

State police Capt. Frank Coots’ division is responsible for Oneida, Madison and Herkimer counties and works largely in rural areas. Coots said he does get calls about dogfighting from “time to time,” but said he believes it happens more than he hears.
“I just think its one of those things that goes underreported because the people involved aren’t going to tell us,” Coots said.

He added, “We all know there’s all types of gambling, but dogfighting seems to be more underground than any other form.”

Coots said the gambling charges can carry steeper penalties than animal abuse charges, but he acknowledged monetary gain and exchange can be difficult to prove.

Bell said other crimes might carry stiffer penalties, but pointed out that dogfighting is often related to other crimes.

“Law-enforcement agencies are finding out other criminal elements are associated with dogfighting, such as gambling, weapons and drugs,” she said. “It can run the gamut of organized crimes.”

Coots said he doesn’t think dogfighting is confined to either urban or rural environments.

“It’s like any other crime,” Coots said. “If people live there, it happens there.”